Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
“A” Level Sociology
A Resource-Based
Learning Approach
Module
Social Differentiation, Inequality and
Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
Introduction.
The main themes of this section of the A-level course are social differentiation,
social inequality and social stratification and, before we start to look in detail at
the relationship between these three major sociological concepts we need to look
briefly at how they can be defined.
Social Differentiation.
We are all aware of individual human differences which, in simple terms, we can
think about in two basic ways:
• Firstly, natural or biological differences, such as differences in physique,
strength, hair colour and skin colour.
• Secondly, social or cultural differences, such as differences in the work
people do or their level of income, status and power.
In this respect there are, potentially, any number of possible dimensions to human
differences and the ultimate expression of this idea is to see every human individual
as being uniquely different in some way. However, the fact of human difference
(whether considered in terms of individuals or cultural groups) is not, in itself,
particularly significant to sociologists. What is significant, however, is the meaning of
these differences (whether they be real or imagined), to both our self and others.
A teacher, for example, is different to the students they teach. This fact,
however, is not particularly important since it simply signifies itself (that is,
there is a difference between the two). However, if a teacher can direct and
control the behaviour of their students because of this difference, this
becomes something very important because the meaning of the relationship
between two different groups (teachers and students) involves a number of
significant ideas. We can, for the moment, note these in the following terms:
Firstly, it involves the concept of inequality.
The teacher, for example, is able to use the fact of their difference to control
the behaviour of students (even if the students do not really want to conform
to the teacher’s wishes).
Secondly, therefore, it involves the related concepts of ideology and power.
Ideology, in this respect, involves beliefs about the significance of the
teacher - student difference. For example, it might involve certain values
(students should obey their teacher, a teacher has the right to demand
conformity from their students and the like), norms (when a teacher is talking
a student keeps quiet, for example) and beliefs (it is right, for example, that a
teacher should seek to control the behaviour of their students).
Power, on the other hand, involves the ability to put ideas into practice. A
student, for example, may believe it wrong that a teacher can punish them
(verbally or physically), but if they lack the power to do anything about such
punishment their beliefs are of little social consequence.
Finally, it involves the concept of stratification. That is, the idea that people can be
ranked differently in terms of their social importance or status.
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
In this instance, the teacher is of higher social rank than the student. This fact
is based on the inequality between them and, in turn, such inequality
reinforces the concept of stratification (or social hierarchy - the placing of
individuals / groups at different levels in society).
Aside from introducing the concepts of inequality, ideology, power and social
stratification, what this example tells us is that social differentiation always
involves a process of “making people different”, in the sense that social
characteristics are used to enhance the power of one group over another, either by
emphasising the superior differences characteristic of the dominant group or by
emphasising the inferior characteristics of the subject group. Social differentiation,
therefore, always involves a sense of social inequality and social ranking
(stratification).
We can express the above ideas - and the relationship between them diagramatically in the following way:
1. “Human Differences”
become
2. Social Differentiation
when:
3. Ideological beliefs about human differences
(explanations of the meaning and significance of
these differences), combined with:
4. The power to put such beliefs into practice
are used to create
5. Social Inequalities.
This, in turn, always involves:
6. Social Stratification
(The process whereby different social groups are
ranked higher or lower on some form of equality
scale).
We can illustrate the above further with an example based around sex and gender.
• Human Difference: In our society we recognise two biological sexes (males
and females).
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
• Social Differentiation occurs when we apply beliefs about what it means, in our
society, to be either male or female. In this instance the characteristics we could
assign to these social categories are unimportant, but a stereotypical
representation might associate characteristics such as:
Men:
Women:
Passive,
Co-operative,
Physically weak,
Emotive, etc.
Aggressive,
Competitive,
Physically strong,
Emotionless, etc.
If, for the sake of argument, we believe the above to be true, these beliefs will only
be socially significant if people have the power to act on such beliefs. Historically, for
example, in our society men have traditionally held the highest, most significant,
positions of power.
• Social Inequality occurs when ideology and power combine in such a way as to
make one group superior or inferior to another group. In this respect, the fact
that men have historically been more powerful than women has been reflected in
different levels of social status for each group.
th
For example, until the late 19 century, women had no separate legal status
of their own (they were, for example, legally considered to be the property of
men - fathers, brothers, husbands and the like). Women could not, for
example, vote, own property, divorce their husband or work in a wide range of
occupations.
• Where men and women are treated differently and unequally on the basis of their
sex, this produces a form of social stratification (in this instance, a very basic
two class model):
Men
(at the top of society)
Women
(at the bottom of society)
• The significance of this, as we will see when we develop our ideas about social
stratification, is that the ranking process not only reflects social differences, it
also creates and maintains these differences by socialising people into a
structure of inequality.
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
Social Stratification.
Although the idea of social differentiation is an important one, the main focus of this
section of the course will be on the concept of social stratification, which we now
need to develop in some detail. As always, the best place to start is with a definition
of the concept.
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines the word "strata" as:
• "A layer, or set of successive layers, of any deposited substance;
layer of atmosphere, biological tissue, or other structure; social
grade (the various strata of society).".
To stratify, therefore, involves the ability to,
• "Arrange in strata; construct in layers, social grades, etc.".
In this respect, we can initially see that if "stratification" involves some concept of
layering (one layer being placed above or below the next - like rock layers, for
example), the concept of "social stratification" involves the idea that people - either
as individuals or, more usually, as groups - can be assigned to different layers (or
levels) in the society in which they live.
• As you should be aware, the analogy drawn between geological stratification
(that is, rock layers) and social stratification (social group layers) is not a perfect
one. As with all analogies, you should not be tempted to stretch them too far. The
concept of stratification as it is applied to human societies is far more complex
than its application to rocks, mainly because - as you will be aware - human
beings have consciousness; that is, they are:
•
•
•
•
Aware of their social environment.
Aware of their social relationships.
Affected by these relationships.
Able to change these relationships.
Thus, while we must use the concept of stratification critically and with care (unlike
rock layers, for example, the social strata created by human beings in their social
relationships are not fixed, complete in themselves and unchanging), it is
nevertheless a useful starting point for the analysis of human social relationships.
We can develop the above definition by noting the way in which the concept of
social stratification has been defined sociologically:
• Giddens (“Sociology”, 1993) for example, has defined it as:
“Structured inequalities between different groupings of people”.
• Crompton (“Class and Stratification”, 1993) expands this simple definition when
she notes that social stratification is:
“A hierarchical system of inequality (material and symbolic),always
supported by a meaning system that seeks to justify inequality.”.
Both of these definitions contain a number of key terms and concepts we need to
briefly expand.
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
• Hierarchy: This reflects the idea that social groups in any stratification system are
arranged “one above the other” (symbolically, if not literally). As we will see, the
basis for this hierarchical ranking is social status. This concept is defined by
Lawson ( “The Complete A-Z Sociology Handbook”, 1996) as:
“The honour or prestige [level of respect] given by members of a society
to groups or individuals.”.
• System: If something is “systematic” it means that it is not based on accident or
chance; rather, it is based on some sort of design. A system of social
stratification, therefore, is one built around a set of criteria that are used as the
basis for
1. Defining the place of individuals / groups in a society.
2. Defining the general relationship between individuals / groups.
For example, in this section of the course we will be looking at four major
dimensions of social stratification, based on criteria such as:
•
•
•
•
Social class
Gender
Ethnicity and
Age
The idea that social stratification can be viewed as systematic is a significant one
because it means that there must be:
• A purpose for a particular type of stratification (it must exist for a reason).
• People who generally benefit from a particular form of social stratification.
• People who generally suffer under a particular form of social stratification.
In addition, it follows there will be people who have an interest in maintaining a
particular system of stratification if they are to continue to benefit from its existence
(which takes us back to the concepts of power and ideology).
• Inequality: Any system of social stratification will, by definition, involve a sense of
social inequality within and between different social groups. Although we will
necessarily look at the concept of inequality (as it applies in this context) in more
detail at a later point, we can note two basic types of inequality here:
a. Material inequality: This relates to economic inequalities between people
(such as wealth, income and so forth) and
b. Symbolic inequality: This relates to less tangible things like inequalities of
status (some people are valued more highly than others) and power (some
people have greater control over both their life chances and the life chances
of others).
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
• Belief / Meaning system: In simple terms, a belief or meaning system refers to
the way a set of related ideas (an ideology if you like) is always used to support,
justify or explain something in the social world. A belief system, therefore, is like a
mental map we use to locate our ideas about the social world - just as we use a
physical map to locate our physical position in the world.
For example, if we are told that someone has “given birth to a baby girl”, we
use mental maps to help us explain both the meaning of concepts such as
“birth”, “baby” and “girl” and, most importantly, the relationship between such
ideas. In this respect, in order to understand (“make sense of”) the ideas
involved we use the stock of ideas we have already have learnt through our
socialisation.
In addition, the concept of a “girl” involves a different set of meanings to the
concept of a “boy” and the meaning system we use in relation to each will
affect how we view “girls” and “boys” in our society.
In the context of social stratification, the concept of a meaning system is used to
show how particular forms of stratification (class, gender, ethnic, age and so forth)
are always accompanied by a set of beliefs that seek to explain and justify the social
inequalities between the individuals / groups involved.
As an exercise, you might like to think about the types of meaning system that can
be used to justify inequalities between the following groups:
•
•
•
•
The very rich and the very poor in our society.
Adults and children.
A student at the top of the class and a student at the bottom.
Teachers and students.
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
Summary
• Thus far we have looked at a number of aspects of social stratification which we
can note and summarise in the following terms:
1. It involves broad social groups who are different in some way from each other.
In simple terms this basically means that human societies invariably consist of social
groups that can be defined in terms of:
a. The fundamental things that the members of a group share (whatever
these things may be).
b. The fundamental differences between one social group and another.
If you want to explore the basic logic behind this argument, read the text inside
the boxes. If not, skip this page and go to the next point…
The focus on social groups, rather than
“individuals”, as the basic unit of analysis, is
significant because of the way sociologists’
view the relationship between the individual
and the society in which they live. In simple
terms, “individual human beings” are the
product of the world in which they live; that is,
they are shaped by the experience of “living
with others”. If you think about it, it’s not
possible to define an “individual human being”
other than by reference to the groups to which
they belong.
Test this idea by thinking about how you
would define yourself “as an individual”
(you might like to think about how you could do
this without language, something you have
learnt from others…)
The point here is that although we, as unique
individuals, all have consciousness (an
awareness of ourselves, others and the
significance of our relationships) we can only
define ourselves collectively (that is, we use
the fact of our consciousness to understand
our relationship to others and, by so doing,
define who and what we are). If each
individual is (simply) the product of the groups
to which they belong than it makes sense,
logically, to analyse “people as social
groups” rather than “people as individuals”
(since the later is wholly dependent on the
former).
To argue "everyone is an individual and
everyone is different" may be true, in a very
limited sense, but it ignores the fact that we
are only "individuals" because of the way we
interact socially with other people. It is the
fact of our membership of social groups that
gives us the ability to recognise ourselves as
individuals in the first place. All "individual
behaviour", therefore, is based on the way we
recognise our relationship to other individuals.
If this seems a bit complicated to grasp, try thinking about the following ideas:
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Human beings live in groups (small groups
like families, larger groups like communities
or countries (“Nation States”) or even the
largest group of all, humanity - membership
of a social group that is global in its
significance). Whether we like it or not, the
fact that we are forced to live in and
amongst social groups means we are
affected, in some way, by the behaviour of
others (just as we, in turn, affect their
behaviour).
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
We become human individuals through
social interaction with others. Our
membership of social groups is not
something that “just happens” because we
are around others. It is through our group
membership that we learn and develop our
individual humanity (through a process of
primary and secondary socialisation, for
example).
Within and between different societies there are a wide-range of cultural similarities.
Notwithstanding the fact that we are all individually different, we seem to act in broadly
similar ways. This is true on two levels:
On a cultural level we can identify, to use
G.P.Murdock’s phrase, a large number of
“cultural universals”. These are things
that seem to be present in every known
society (family groups, religious beliefs,
status differences, social controls and so
forth).
On an individual level we can identify
numerous broad patterns of behaviour,
ranging from the way we organise our time
(work, leisure and so forth), to the way we
speak, dress and wear our hair.
• On an individual level we can identify
As we know, these broad behavioural patterns (based on cultural values,
roles, norms and so forth) are not accidental (even though we rarely, if
ever, give them much thought) and they are not random (based on chance).
We observe behavioural norms because we find them useful and helpful
(liberating) or because we are compelled to obey them (our behaviour is
socially controlled in some way - either by ourselves or by others…).
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
2. It involves the arrangement of social groups in a hierarchy.
The concept of stratification, by definition, involves one group of people being
placed higher or lower on some sort of measuring scale than another group;
that is, various groups are arranged hierarchically in society on the basis of
various perceived social differences.
3. It involves some concept of inequality.
When we talk about any kind of "hierarchy" (social or otherwise) we are
immediately introducing some notion of inequality, since to talk about one
group being "higher or lower" than another group involves making
judgements about these groups. Once we start making such judgements
(whether or not these are justifiable, reliable, valid and so forth), we introduce
notions of inequality based upon social differences.
In this respect, the differences between social groups are only socially significant
when they are used to treat people differently; a form of social inequality.
For example, it only matters if people are categorised as “right handed” or
“left handed” when this perceived difference results in the differential
treatment of each group. Similarly, it is of no particular social significance
whether someone is male or female until we treat such people differently on
the basis of this label.
When we, for whatever reason, identify a social group, compare them (favourably or
unfavourably) with another group and treat each differently we are moving away
from the concept of social differences and towards that of social stratification.
4. It involves some concept of power.
It is evident that if we are:
a. Identifying social differences between groups of people.
b. Making judgements about their respective social worth (arranging them in a
system of stratification)
then some concept of power is also important here - if only for the fact that by
arranging people in a hierarchy (on the basis of judgements we make about social
differences) we are exercising some form of power.
5. It involves some concept of ideology, which is significant in a number of ways:
a. All stratification systems have to be based on ideas about the meaning of
social differences.
b. Any system of stratification always has an associated belief system that
is used to both justify and explain why such a system exists.
c. Ideology is an important aspect of power, since if you can persuade
someone they are inferior to, this gives you a measure of power over them.
As an exercise, we can think about social stratification - and in particular it's
significance and consequences - by using a form of "stratification experience" with
which you are all familiar, namely "education".
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
Social Stratification in the Classroom...
Read and consider the following:
"At some point in their school life, every student suffers an examination - a test of
what you know (or, more likely what you don't know or didn't bother to revise
because "they're never going to ask me a question on that")...Revising for exams is
bad enough, but far worse is the feeling of barely-repressed doom when the teacher,
in full view of your classmates, looks at you and utters a disapproving "tut-tut" as they
hand you back your sadly-thin answer paper.
It's at this point that your heart begins to beat louder and louder until your chest is
pounding like the scene in "Alien" when the creature bursts out of it's victim's chest...
With mounting trepidation, you lift your resigned eyes to look at the thick red mark
burning it's way from the page into your heart and then you realise, with a crushing
finality, that there is, after all your hopes and prayers, no God in His heaven
(because if there were He would surely have answered those prayers and turned
your sad scrawl into a perfectly presented, perfectly correct, set of answers). Until
this awful moment of truth all students are created equal; until this fatal confirmation
of your inadequacy, you could stand tall(ish) with the rest because, whatever anyone
else may have suspected, there was no proof. But now there is proof, in the black
and white (or, in reality, the green and mauve because you had to borrow a pen from
someone) and red of the paper that has frozen in your hand...
If this initial confirmation of your worthlessness was not enough, the torture continues
when your “friends” start to pester you for your score and the world resounds to the
scornful "beat you, beat her" mantra of a classroom full of scared students.
Somewhere in the back of your mind, you hear the words,
"And your exam results shall follow you all the rest of your days",
and while you try not to think about it as you smile that unconvincing smile through
the pain and the Herculean effort involved in stopping your face crumpling into tears,
it's true. They do."
From the above passage it's possible to identify the various aspects of stratification
that we identified earlier. See if you can identify the following elements and provide
brief examples to support your identification:
a. Social differentiation
d. Power
b. Hierarchy
e. Ideology
c. Inequality
If you’re interested, the examples I would give are as follows (you may have different
examples that are just as valid).
a. Social differentiation (making people different) is evidenced by the examination
itself. Whether this differentiation is based upon some form of "objective" feature of
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Social Differentiation, Inequality and Stratification
Unit S1: Basic Concepts
behaviour (for example, the knowledge / intelligence you possess) or otherwise, the
examination serves to "make people different".
b. Hierarchy is evidenced by the way in which students are grouped on the basis of
their test scores. In this instance, students are ranked individually (although the
teacher will probably have devised very general categories - pass or fail, perhaps - in
order to group students together).
As you need to note, this hierarchy is not without it's consequences, since the
individual's knowledge of being placed in some form of rank order affects
their behaviour.
c. Inequality is evidenced in the outcome of the test and it's consequences for the
individual. In this instance, some students are held in higher standing than others
(those that did well felt superior to those who did not do well).
Even in this little example, the significance of "making people appear
unequal" is clear (even though we have no evidence about the kind or
importance of the test - the individual relating the story might, for all we know,
be a genius in a class of similarly gifted individuals - it is clear that this person
felt themselves to be of lesser worth than his or her peers...
d. Power is evidenced in two main ways in this example. Firstly and most obviously
in terms of the power of the teacher to rank individual students in terms of their test
performance. Secondly, however, it is also evident that the relationship between the
students was changed by the examination - from one of equality to inequality.
While we could delve much deeper into this area if we so desired (to talk
about the sources and varieties of power involved within the classroom), it
should suffice for the moment simply to note various power relationships and
their consequences for social stratification in this particular context.
e. Ideology is evidenced in a number of different ways here:
Firstly there is the belief that an examination system is an acceptable way of
differentiating between individual students. This idea is presumably shared by
both teacher and student.
Secondly, there is the belief that exams test real differences (in intelligence
for example) between different students and that they therefore represent a
valid way of identifying real differences.
Thirdly, In order for you to care about your exam results you have to be
convinced of the importance of an examination system.
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